Barack Obama

The Last Thing This Nation Needs

I hate to nitpick at an outstanding and historic speech but it's January 21 and time to start talking about the stimulus bill, so, well, I'll let James Howard Kunstler do the nitpicking...

By Aaron Naparstek

10:42 AM EST on January 21, 2009

I hate to nitpick at an outstanding and historic speech but it’s January 21 and time to start talking about the stimulus bill, so, well, I’ll let James Howard Kunstler do the nitpicking…

“We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars…”
— Barack Obama’s inaugural address.

“The last thing this nation needs now is a stimulus plan aimed at
the development of non-gasoline-powered automobiles married with
extensive rehabilitation of the highway system.”
— James Howard Kunstler

Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparstek's journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. He was also one of the original cast members of the "War on Cars" podcast. You can find more of his work on his website.